on the trail of the archaic revival

This site is not a just recipe website, although thats what it comes across as. What we are really sharing here are techniques: some of which our ancestors perfected over years and years, all over the world. Fermentation, soaking grains, beneficial herbs, bone broth, & preserving food are all part of what we like to call 'the archaic revival'. We also serve up ideas, challenges and neat foods and vegetables that you may not have tried.

Our priority is to use fresh organic produce, dairy, grains and meats. We begin with the groceries available to us (and that we can afford), preferably at a local farmers market and/or co-op. Once we have our ingredients, then we either look them up in the index of one of our fave cookbooks, or barge ahead on inspiration. One thing we are sure of - organic just tastes (feels!) better. Because we really love food, its all about using wonderful ingredients.

connecting food to farming

Its difficult to over-estimate the value of farmers and their endeavors. Given the importance of their work to our health, they would seem to deserve all our affection and more. We are encouraged by the recent trend away from big agriculture and monoculture. The small (and large) organic farms that are cropping up all around the world are making life better for their communities, and maybe for all of us. Organic meat, cheese, wine and beer are also making inroads to modern life. Sometimes the word 'conscious' comes up in place of organic: this word denotes the sense of personal responsibility that may lead to a better future.

contact us

We welcome your input, comments, submissions and suggestions. If you have questions about a recipe, life in northern california or kung-fu cooking, we would be happy to answer them. mail at wonderfulingredients dot com

dandelion pesto

the slightly bitter flavor of dandelion
is wonderful added to salads & soups or steamed with chard and
eggs. for this recipe we created a norcal pesto that not only
tastes terrific, but with the added nutrition of garlic and olive oil,
is the farm version of a multi-vitamin! our recipe utilizes an italian
dandelion (actually not a true dandelion but a radicchio) often found
in csa boxes, farmers markets or even your local co-op. enjoy your
pesto on toasted bread, poached eggs, pasta or check out how we used it
with our newest lentil creation.

Begin by toasting the walnuts: place walnuts in a dry saute pan and heat under a medium flame. since it is easy to go from almost toasty to burnt, i recommend keeping distractions at bay! after a minute or so, shake the pans, tossing the walnuts. continue to heat until the walnuts brown a bit on each side 2-3 minutes. remove from the pan as soon as the nuts are toasted, leaving them in the pan (even w/ the heat off) will result in further toasting or burning. set aside to cool.

Roughly chop dandelion, discarding the fat part of the stem. remove the outer thick skin from the cloves of garlic and mince.

To a blender or food processor add the walnuts and salt. blend until walnuts are in small pieces. add cheese and green garlic and blend a bit more. add dandelion greens. at this point, i use the end of a spoon to work the dandelion in a bit w/ the rest of the items before going back to blending. add olive oil and lemon juice and blend on a low speed for 10-30 seconds. the longer the blend, the more creamy the pesto. a rustic effect is achieved by either mincing all the ingredients and mixing by hand or blending till just incorporated.

Transfer to a pint mason jar. if you don’t eat this all up at once, store in the refrigerator. as with most of our recipes, feel free to substitute ingredients with what you have on hand. experiment with different nuts, seeds & cheeses or go cheese free for a lighter vegan version. buen provecho!